CHIDINMA ACHEBE

Chidinma (Chi) is an avid traveler with an adventurous spirit and love for humanity.  She has visited 35 countries and lived in South Africa for 4 years. At the age of 23, Chi was invited to be the first program manager of the Anzisha Prize, a $100,000 pan-African entrepreneurship award created by the African Leadership Academy and The MasterCard Foundation. She led strategy development, executed marketing initiatives in 12 African countries, advised entrepreneurs, and brokered partnerships with top African entrepreneurs, organizations, government representatives, and media entities. Over the course of her 3-year tenure, the Anzisha Prize grew from a team of one to a team of many, and from a nascent award to one that spans over 40 countries and 4 languages, is covered by global media (BBC, CNN, and Forbes), and inspires thousands of people.

A series of close calls prompted Chi to become a founder of her own tech startup, ResSpot, a global 911 “Uber for emergency response” app that connected users to nearby emergency service providers. She developed the app prototype, garnered user signups, and attracted a major South African partner. ResSpot was invited to pitch at President Obama’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit, AT&T Shape Challenge, and Forbes 30 under 30 Summit, where Chi shared a green room with Richard Branson and Ashton Kutcher.  Prior to her work in South Africa, Chi was an account strategist at Google, where she managed the account performance of B2B tech companies with a collective revenue impact of $8 million. 

Chi graduated a semester early with honors from the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Political Science and Communications, and a minor in African Studies.  She is the youngest of 4 girls in a first-generation Nigerian-American family. She has been featured on commercials and voiceovers across Africa, as well as the South African version of Shark Tank. Her interests include culinary arts, traveling, investing, and dreaming up new possibilities.